For many of us, Thanksgiving with our families makes the holiday season official. We gather with loved ones, give thanks for the blessings in our lives, and enjoy a day of togetherness and turkey.

We hardly have time to put away the leftovers before holiday shopping messages become urgent. Don’t miss Black Friday! Save time for Small Business Saturday! Don’t forget about Cyber Monday!

And then there’s #GivingTuesday.

With all of the messages about buying and taking you’ll hear over the next few days, #GivingTuesday (Nov. 27) provides a welcome reminder about the power of giving. #GivingTuesday is a global day of giving that kicks off the charitable season. Using the power of social media and collaboration, millions of people around the world proudly and publicly show their support for their favorite charity by making a gift on #GivingTuesday.

How will you join this global movement on #GivingTuesday?

This #GivingTuesday, National PTA will celebrate how the Reflections art program has impacted kids, schools and communities through the arts. National PTA will showcase Reflections artists past and present and raise awareness for the importance of the arts for children’s well-being.

We need your support!

For 50 years, National PTA’s Reflections program has helped students explore their own thoughts, feelings and ideas, develop artistic literacy, increase confidence and find a love for learning that will help them become more successful in school and in life.

Art education is critical to a child’s development and success:

Underserved students show the greatest relative improvements when participating in arts programs like Reflections.

Through movement, social interactions, emotional expression and application of skill, arts education provides an academic advantage to students.

The arts provide safe learning environments where students take risks, explore ideas, express their individuality and support their peers in a positive way.

Studies also find that students are more engaged, and teachers are more effective in arts-rich schools.

Research shows that students who study the arts develop a sense of personal responsibility toward their communities and can positively affect the community social life through their artwork.

National PTA’s cornerstone arts program engages nearly 300,000 students from all grade levels each year in categories like dance, film, literature, music, photography and visual arts. This #GivingTuesday, we’re asking you to give your children and grandchildren the gift of 50 more years of Reflections.

On Nov. 27, get active on social media, engage with your favorite organizations including National PTA, and give generously. We invite your support of National PTA’s Reflections program! Help us celebrate and spread the impact of the arts on children and families. You can donate here, and don’t forget to post on social media to encourage your friends to join you in giving!

A few years ago, a politician said something to me that hit me to my core and helped me find my voice. He was talking about the need for prisons and said they knew whether a child would go to college or prison by how they could read in the third grade.

So I thought, if we know that children are in trouble by the third grade, the answer isn’t to build prisons, it’s to build better schools and help our kids!

I believe in education and I hope you do too—because, now more than ever, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and everyone who cares about children needs to speak out loudly and effectively on their behalf. And no organization helps us do that better than National PTA.

If you’ve ever had kids in your life, PTA needs no introduction. You know about the cookie dough and wrapping paper drives that your school’s PTA puts on. Sometimes they’re trying to buy nicer playground equipment or new technology. Other times they’re making sure kids have the basic supplies, like notebooks and pencils.

It might seem strange because I am a grandmother in Oklahoma who’s raised her kids, but I am still inspired to be a part of the PTA chorus of advocating for every child with one voice. Here’s why:

You don’t have to have a student in school to join and use your voice. To me, that’s so inspiring. It shows me what’s possible. My own children are grown, but that doesn’t mean I no longer have a vested interest in today’s kids and schools. I now advocate side by side with my children for my grandchildren. I know that when schools are good, kids have a better chance to succeed—and when kids succeed, our community and country succeeds too. With leadership and guidance from National PTA, I’ve knocked on state and federal legislators’ doors, the governor’s door, spoken up at state and school board meetings and rallied other parents and community lead­ers to get involved. And I’ve seen how we can make a difference together because you can, too.

It takes a village of people who care, get more involved. My daughter’s high school didn’t have a PTA when she started as a freshman. But because of family and community involvement, it now has a strong and active group of parents, grandparents, alumni, teachers (and students!), who are working on behalf of their school. Feeding over 300 students bi-weekly with the food pantry is just one thing this PTA is now doing. Because of family and community involvement, local schools where I live have resources from our school district on how to help homeless par­ents and get clothing and shelter to abused moms and kids. Because of family and community involvement, PTAs throughout Oklahoma City and the entire state of Oklahoma are talking to each other, working with each other and speaking up for kids with each other.

You can make every child’s dream a reality. Right now, National PTA is leading the charge to restore federal funds that have been cut from education, bring pre-kindergarten to every child, ensure safe and healthy environments in all schools, raise the bar on academic achievement so every child can reach his or her full potential, and more. Whether we’re talking about funding for pre-kindergarten or creating safe schools, this is a fight for our future.

So let’s give our kids the bright future they deserve. We need to stand together to change the world for our children and grandchildren. Will you join me by donating to National PTA, the nation’s most determined and trusted voice for children? We can make a difference!

Anna King is a member of National PTA board of directors, former president of Oklahoma PTA and is a part of the Teacher and Leader Effectiveness Commission and participates in the Oklahoma Prevention Leadership Collaborative.